Italy
Italy (Italian: Italia, officially the Italian Republic; Italian: Repubblica Italiana), is a country located in Southern Europe, that comprises the Po River valley, the Italian Peninsula and the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily and Sardinia. It is also called by Italians lo Stivale ("the Boot", due to its boot-like shape), il Bel Paese ("the Beautiful Country") or la Penisola ("the Peninsula" as an antonomasia). Italy shares its northern alpine boundary with France, Switzerland, Austria and Slovenia. The independent countries of San Marino and the Vatican City are enclaves within Italian territory, while Campione d'Italia is an Italian exclave in Switzerland. Italy was home to many well-known and influential European cultures, including the Etruscans, Greeks, and the Romans. Its capital Rome has laid the foundations for Western Society, and is an historically important world city, especially as the core of ancient Rome and the Roman Catholic Church. For more than 3,000 years Italy experienced migrations and invasions from Germanic, Celtic, Frankish, Lombard, Byzantine Greek, Saracen and Norman peoples during the Middle Ages, followed by the Italian Renaissance period, in which the Italian Wars took place and various city-states were noted for their cultural achievements. Italy was divided into many independent states and often experienced foreign domination before the Italian unification, that created Italy as an independent nation-state for the first time in its history, took place. During the period under the Italian monarchy and during the world wars Italy experienced much conflict, but stability was restored after the creation of the Italian Republic. Today, Italy is a highly-developed country with the 7th-highest GDP and the seventeenth-highest Human Development Index rating in the world. It is a member of the G8 and a founding member of what is now the European Union (having signed the Treaty of Rome in 1957), of the Council of Europe and of the Western European Union. Starting from January 1 2007, Italy is a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council. It is considered by some a Great Power. Inhabitants of Italy are referred to as Italians (italiani, or poetically italici). External links ; Official sites * Italia.it - Official Tourism site (work in progress) * Presidenza della Repubblica - Official site of the President of the Republic of Italy * Parlamento - Official site of the Italian Parliament (Senate in Italian only) * Camera dei Deputati - Chamber of Deputies (few languages) * Senato della Repubblica - Senate * Italia.gov.it - Main institutional portal * The Italian Government - Official site of the Council of Ministries * Corte Costituzionale - Italian Constitutional Court * Corte Suprema di Cassazione - Italian Supreme Court (Court of Cassation) * Corte dei Conti - Italian Court of Accounts * Ministero degli Affari Esteri - Italian Foreign Office * Ministero dell'interno - Ministry of Interior * Ministero dell'Istruzione, Università e Ricerca - Ministry of Education, University and Research * Study in Italy - International exchanges - Ministry of Education * Ministero della Salute - Ministry of Health * Ministero della Difesa - Ministry of Defence * Ministero del lavoro - Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare * Ministero dello Sviluppo Economico - Ministry for Economic Development * Ministero dell'Agricoltura - Ministry of Agriculture * Ministero di Grazia e Giustizia - Ministry of Justice * Istituto nazionale di statistica - National Statistics Office ; Others * History of Italy: Primary Documents * Italian Railways * ENIT - Italian State Tourism Board * Italian Parks - National and regional parks and protected areas * Pictures of Italy * List and maps of archaeological sites in Italy * WWW-VL: History: Italy at IUE * CIA World Factbook - Italy Category:Countries